The London Art Fairs for Modern British & Contemporary Art Opens in January

Written by Philip Mountford Friday, 09 December 2011 23:57

London.- The London Art Fair is pleased to announce that 120 galleries will be attending the 2012 even, being held at the Business Design Centre in Islington from January 18th through January 22nd. London Art Fair, the UK’s original and largest art fair for Modern British and contemporary art, announces a stellar line-up of over 100 galleries from the UK and beyond.  They will be complemented by the acclaimed Art Projects section, focusing on new work from younger galleries and Photo50, a showcase for contemporary photography.  Major artists represented include Bridget Riley, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Patrick Heron, Damien Hirst, Keith Coventry and Marcus Harvey, as well as the most exciting new talent.

UK-based contemporary galleries include Charlie Smith London, Danielle Arnaud, Other Criteria, Pertwee Anderson and Gold, Purdy Hicks, Scream, Union Gallery and Vigo, while Modern British specialists such as Agnew’s, Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert, Offer Waterman, Osborne Samuel, Piano Nobile, Robin Katz Fine Art and The Fine Art Society and will once again prominently feature. International galleries include Artêria (Canada), Foley Gallery (New York), Galerie Olivier Waltman (Paris), JECZA Gallery (Romania), Whatiftheworld gallery (South Africa). Work on sale ranges from £50 to over £1 million, highlighting London Art Fair’s reputation for both quality and accessibility.

Alongside the main fair, Art Projects features emerging international contemporary artists and galleries presenting solo shows, curated group displays, editions and large-scale installations, this year including: Alma Enterprises, Bearspace, Edel Assanti, Hannah Barry Gallery, Hoxton Art Gallery, Limoncello Editions and The Residence Gallery. Launched in 2005, Art Projects has established itself as one of the most exciting sections of London Art Fair attracting widespread critical acclaim and a distinct audience. In 2011 they expanded Art Projects to encompass selected projects by galleries from London, New York, Germany and Ireland, alongside public galleries and foundations such as The Whitechapel, ICA and Saatchi Editions. Art Projects features curated solo and group shows of contemporary work – painting, photography, sculpture, editions – as well as large scale installations, video and film.

Photo50 is an exhibition of contemporary photography and features fifty works – most for sale – curated by Sue Steward (writer, broadcaster, photography curator). This year, Photo50 opens up a spectrum of contemporary photography from the analogue to the digital. This selection of work by twelve photographers focuses on different ways of representing an image and it reveals the broad range of processes involved in image-making. I label them ‘alchemists’ because the term resonates with the ancient practitioners of photography, the experimenters with chemicals and paper, the pioneers of ‘writing with light’ which is what photo-graphy literally means. Many images in this exhibition were produced through analogue processes and reveal surprising similarities with their digital counterparts; many mingle the two.


There is also the changing assumption that the photographic print is the finished object, the ultimate goal of production. But it is no longer necessarily the end-point; the printed paper is enduring the transformation, partially destroyed or decorated, re-built to take on a new dimension – and becoming an original art work in its own right. The works in Photo50 highlight the richness and diversity of photography today. It’s almost impossible now to define ‘photography’ because of its porous nature and its convergence with painting film and craft, demonstrated in this exhibition.  It is a vast art form - and London is a hub for these significant, beautiful, seismic changes.

The Photography Focus Day on Wednesday 18 January will examine contemporary photographic practice with debates, discussions and tours; all free to attend with your ticket to London Art Fair.. An extensive programme of talks and critical debates in association with key partners, plus daily tours of the Main Fair and Art Projects. Visit the fair's website at ... www.londonartfair.co.uk

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